PROFESSIONAL TRANSLATION

The only way to ensure that your message does not get lost in translation...

We've all seen those ridiculous literal translations...

Take the Paris hotel that asks guests to please leave their "values" at the front desk, or the harried Greek tailor explaining that they will "execute customers in a strict rotation"; funny, but not particularly reassuring for an English-speaking customer.

What if the mistake were to become less funny, or even offensive? Like this poor woman and her offensive couch colour tone from China?

Is this really the image you want to portray of your company?

Didn’t think so.

[To see just how bad translation can really get, take a look the following clip:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q82gAFB2igY]

WHY YOU NEED TO GET IT RIGHT...WHY YOU NEED TO GET IT RIGHT...

To make sure that this doesn't happen, and that your content is rendered in a way that makes you proud, you need to employ the services of a professional translation agency.

Any translation agency worth its salt will make sure all the following steps are completed and return content that clearly conveys your particular message in your individual voice.

WHY YOU NEED TO GET IT RIGHT...HOW TO GET IT RIGHT...

Steps in the lifecycle of a marketing translation:

Step 1: Pre-analysisStep 2: Choose right translatorsStep 3: Choose right toolStep 4: Prepare translator handoff kitStep 5: TranslateStep 6: Quality spot-checkStep 7: Ongoing query managementStep 8: Full proofStep 9: Final eyeStep 10: Quality as a continuum

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW...WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW...

This is your opportunity to get together all the information you need to produce translated copy that really speaks to your target market. Typically this involves the following steps:

Conduct in-depth research into the customer, their business, and their audience

Research the customer’s competitors in the sector, see how they sell themselves, and find reference points for translation

Research sector and competition in terms of Search engine optimisation and determine how best to adapt the customer’s existing SEO strategy for the target market (keyword seed list, etc.)

Analyse the files for translation carefully , determine the main themes and potential difficulties and decide how best to approach and handle them

Work together with the customer to create comprehensive glossaries and style guides to ensure that the translated content is consistent with their existing voice and brand identity

PREP/RESEARCH/ANALYSISSTEP 1: PRE-ANALYSIS

Now is the time to decide on the best team for the job at hand. This is where the value of working with a professional translation agency really comes into play as they will already have trusted teams of subject-matter experts in place.

Depending on the scope of the project, each team should consist of :

Translator(s) Senior editor/reviewer

Select the translators most suited to the project based on background and previous experience.

Scheduling – Ensure that the selected team has sufficient availability to complete the job, including all necessary steps, comfortably within the deadline. This applies in particular to the QA sample step.

RESOURCE ALLOCATIONSTEP 2: CHOOSE THE RIGHT TRANSLATORS

Now you need to decide on the best translation technology for the job.

• Depending on the type of text, this could include: Translation memory technology such as Trados,

which enables you to leverage previous translations and ensure consistency

Glossary adherence tools such as Xbench, which check that all approved terminology has been applied consistently in the translated text

TOOL ANALYSISSTEP 3: CHOOSE THE RIGHT TOOL

This step involves gathering together all of the materials that the translators will need in order to fully understand and reflect the customer’s requirements. Typically this would include:

Background info – Short description of customer and specific requirements of project :

Purpose of translation Target audience Sector-specific characteristics

Glossaries/translation memories/style guides – Approved by customer where possible

Approved customer content currently in active circulation to be used as reference

High-quality original content from competitors of note in the target sector and country

PREPARING TRANSLATOR HANDOFF KITSTEP 4: PREPARE TRANSLATOR HANDOFF KIT

The text won’t translate itself. Now’s the time to get to work!

TRANSLATESTEP 5: TRANSLATE

Asking questions is never a sign of weakness. It’s often by asking the right questions that you get to the real heart of what the author is trying to convey. It’s a two-way process offering manifold benefits for the customer:

Nailing down meaning behind key brand values Clarification of ambiguous source text Flagging of typos in source text Sign-off on stylistic preferences not included in

initial style guide

QUERY MANAGEMENTSTEP 6: ONGOING QUERY MANAGEMENT

This step involves a Senior editor/reviewer performing a QA spotcheck as early as possible in the translation process.

Focus should be on: Checking the sample translation for meaning – Is the

message conveyed by the source text accurately conveyed in the target?

Adherence to glossary/style guide – Has the translator consistently used the approved terminology?

Readability – Does the translated text flow well? Does it read as though originally written in the target language?

Queries – Have the answers to any queries raised during translation been implemented consistently?

All feedback should be documented and sent back to the translator for implementation in their files prior to delivery

QUALITY SPOTCHECKSTEP 7: FIRST QA - QUALITY SPOTCHECK

In this step, the Senior editor/reviewer performs a full proof of the files delivered by the translators.

Focus should be on: Checking for meaning – The main purpose of this QA

stage is to check that the translated text accurately reflects the meaning of the source text without any omissions, additions, etc.

Ensuring that same house style is applied to all content Adherence to glossary/style guide – Has the translator

consistently used the approved terminology? Queries – Have the answers to any queries raised during

translation been implemented consistently? Final files should be sent back to the translators for

reference

FULL PROOFSTEP 8: SECOND QA - FULL PROOF

In the context of a marketing translation, the purpose of this final QA step is to ensure the translated text reads as if written in the target language (i.e. language that it has been translated into).

Again, this step is performed by the dedicated Senior editor/reviewer and the focus is on:

Taking a step back from the source language and focusing on the target language only

Ensuring that the quality of the target text speaks for itself and that the final text stands in its own right, independent of the source

FINAL EYESTEP 9: THIRD QA - FINAL EYE

In a professional translation agency, quality should be seen as a continuous thread running right throughout the project:

• Build up and mentor dedicated translation teams• Research and prepare reliable reference material and

have approved by customer if feasible• Consult with subject-matter experts wherever possible• Use translation technology to ensure consistency

(Trados and Xbench)• Invite feedback from the customer and identify areas for

improvement• Update glossaries and style guides based on feedback

and circulate to team

STEP 10 - QUALITY CONTINUUM

WHAT GOOGLE TRANSLATE CAN DO FOR YOU...

WHAT A PROFESSIONAL TRANSLATION AGENCY CAN DO FOR YOU...

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